Destiny of Love and pain
by Arwen Strife
Summary: Sakura is surprised by an appearance in Konoha.It's been 5 years since sasuke left.Her heart is now dull to love.Gaara can't feel that emotion, but he has to find out,or he will not have a heart,let alone a body. Updated.
1. Chapter 1

_**Love**__…I should know the definition of this word…it's to care and feel deeply for someone and to long to be with them…. to be special to them. That's what the dictionary says. I know the meaning of this word or… do I? I bear its weight everywhere I go… it's a curse…And yet I have a small flame…a flicker of hope that someday…I will be able to understand …love._

In the desert, the winds cut through skin and penetrate a person's body…it blows the sand and the sand follows its command. In the distance, a figure moves through the wind, as if he can't feel it. He keeps on going, as only one thought runs through his mind.

_Konoha…my fate will come to be decided there._

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

The cherry-blossom's head turned at the sound of her name being called…or rather yelled. Her eyes widened and she scrambled to get out of the way. A moment later a figure in a bright orange suit came bulldozing through the village, almost disrupting the whole market place.

"SAKURASAKURASAKURASAKUR-ITE!"

He was interrupted by Sakura's fist coming down on top of his head.

"_WHAT_! Naruto, you baka! You could have hurt someone the way you ploughed through the place like that!"

Sakura sighed in frustration. Meanwhile, Naruto had stopped cringing on the ground and was now taking the chance to tell her he had to tell.

"Sakura! Have you heard! Oh, what am I saying, Of course you probably had after all Tsunade-baba is your boss and all but not a very good one even if she is Hokage I'd make a better one, she's always drunk on sake and…."

And he continued on about Tsunade's bad drinking habits and how he suspected she was probably drunk when she fought or just in general. Sakura just got impatient and decided that whatever he was going to tell her obviously wasn't coming anytime soon. She decided to go for a walk while Naruto was amusing himself with his ravings of the Godaime.

**Inner Sakura:/You know…maybe he wanted to tell you something important…we haven't heard anything from Tsunade lately…But then again, she was drinking again this morning so…/**

/Gee, you're being awfully thoughtful and polite this morning aren't you? Decided to change your very nature?/

**/You're calling yourself evil you know! I'm YOU! So if I'm evil, so are you! Bleh…/**

/That was so childish. Who sticks out their tongue anymore?/

/Once again, you're just insulting yourself. 'Sides, didn't I see you doing that to Tsunade this morning when you didn't catch the empty sake bottle she hurled at you…/

/Shut up, you're really annoying. /

By this time she'd forced her inner Sakura to shut up when she'd realize where she was and what she'd just said to herself. She had been so busy arguing with herself she hadn't paid attention to where she was going. And exactly where was she, at the stone bench where she had her heart broken. By the same person who used that same term on her.

"You're annoying."

"Stay away from me!"

"Thank you, Sakura…"

At once all the memories began to rush back into her mind. It was too much for her to bear. She sat on the cold bench holding her head in her hands, yet she did not cry. The Sakura five years ago might have broken down, but her training had taught her to numb the pain and bear it, no matter how sharp a knife was being driven into her heart. But, she still knew that even if the blade of the knife was dull, it still hurt when you cut yourself with it.

Suddenly - while her head was swimming with pain, a strong gust of wind blew directly into her face, carrying grains of sand in it.

In her surprise, Sakura gasped and swallowed a mouthful of nasty sand.

"Ugh!" She spent the next few minutes coughing out sand and trying to rub it from her eyes. She decided afterwards that the taste of sand wouldn't be leaving her mouth anytime soon, unless she spat it out. And with her eyesight still blurred from the flying sand, she spat.

When she finally looked up, she felt a wave of familiar raging dark chakra, and somehow knew that she was doomed.

_HOLY CRAP! I just spat on someone's shoes! _

Sakura almost choked in her shock. Her, Konoha's top medic Nin, had just _spat_ on someone's shoes! Oh, she was gonna have hell to pay when Tsunade heard about it… or perhaps, she already had hell to pay to whomever's shoes it was that she spat on.

Her eyes traveled slowly up to the person's face…and when she finally looked into the furious eyes of the owner, she knew she was about to experience hell worse than Orochimaru's attack plan to take over Konoha.


	2. Chapter 2

**Her eyes traveled slowly up to the person's face…and when she met the eyes of the owner, she knew she was about to experience hell worse than Orochimaru's attack plan to take over Konoha….**

"…What. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?"

The sand nin looked down on Sakura with piercing emotionless eyes but his aura told the Haruno girl that she might be in for a lot of trouble if she didn't think fast.

"Um…You see…I was….uh well…

Sand began crawling up Sakura's legs and Gaara's eyes were narrowing slightly.

"That's not very polite of you to do that to a visitor in your village and not apologize isn't it? I might have to teach you some manners…"

**Inner Sakura: **/**Quick! Say something smart and logical or we're about to be killed by a sand psychopath!/**

/Well. Why don't you do something? You're the one inside my head! Hello? Are you still there? KUSO! DAMN YOU! You chickened out!/

While this conversation went on inside Sakura's brain, she was, unfortunately, also shouting whatever she said out.

Gaara stared down at this strange girl with the impossibly bright hair with a tiny amount of confusion at her outburst, a large amount of building impatience and annoyance, and a familiar feeling of just wanting to eliminate the problem by crushing her.

/This girl is a mess. Talking to herself. And obviously not too bright since she has yet to apologize. Annoyance./

Within Gaara's own thoughts he felt Shukaku twist with glee, goading him to crush her. Why not. She seems perfectly dispensable, it would take almost no time at all…not to mention how that soft, supple looking body would just crumble to pieces in the most satisfying way…

Gaara thought about it and looked at the stuttering pink-haired girl.

/Such a waste of sand and effort…She's not worth it And besides the point, taking advice from a sick minded demon who thinks about nothing besides killing and perverted things. Besides, I highly doubt her blood would be worth entering my sand. /

Forcing himself to close off thoughts with Shukaku's suggestions, Gaara glanced at the pink haired girl. Then faint recognition occurred to him. He knew this…chattering, noisy creature. The last he had seen her, he had pinned her to a tree about to kill her. Then he was right, she was a weakling.

/But then again, she defended that Uchiha boy, even though she was obviously no match for me. An act of stupidity on her part?/

And yet, while he pondered that thought, he also had a feeling that her actions weren't dictated by stupidity. He had seen glimmers of intelligence in her eyes while she had stood up to him, glancing around for any means of escape or something that would help her. But more than that, he saw…he saw what he thought or knew only of but never felt…emotions to protect people dear to her. Feelings of compassion or even…love. Huh. That word again.

Gaara snapped out of his reverie, tired of waiting for an apology that wouldn't come. He was bored either way and just wanted to get on with his business.

Looking up, Gaara couldn't help but see that Sakura had grown in the last five years. Shukaku's leerings had obviously made an indent somewhere in his psyche because he noticed her curving figure as she struggled to swipe the sand of her feet and ankles as well as her clothing. She had really clear, green eyes, the kind that would probably sparkle if she smiled. Not that Gaara would know for what reason would she have to smile at him for. Her skin was clear and looked warm to the touch…glowing with fresh, hot blood flowing in her veins, ready to be spilt…

/What am I thinking?/

Gaara shook himself mentally.

/…I must be getting dizzy from all her incessant non-stop rambling. I made a promise…I intend to keep it. But still…I have a plan to make her suffer a bit for wasting my time and my sandals./

Intending to scare her a mite with his sand, Gaara turned towards her…or where he thought she'd be.

…but she wasn't there…

/…She escaped. This time while I was mentally rambling./

Gaara sighed for the epic waste of time he had just gine through and went on his way. It wasn't as if he was going to meet her again.

Sakura was panting like a dog when she reached Tsunade's office…

"I have to warn Tsunade that Gaara is back! Who knows what might happen?"

/But maybe I was wrong and he's just here to visit./

**/And You actually believe that! He already tried to kill you. TWICE MAY I REMIND YOU! Chuunin exams and now this! I say we report him straight to Tsunade!/**

/gulp…he might want to get revenge on me for that. Maybe I should have apologized then and there…he doesn't seem as killer like, I mean he was practically spacing out back there…maybe he's a nice guy./

Sakura thought back to how Gaara hadn't even noticed she had gone when he was muttering to himself. She had heard from Naruto vaguely that he had a demon inside of him just like Naruto, except Gaara's demon was a serious nutcase. Naruto had also told her how he related to him a bit. Them being in the same situation and yet so different…

Naruto had looked at her with solemn eyes and told her that Gaara hadn't been as lucky as he had been.

Sakura could barely comprehend that statement.

Naruto was hardly lucky, being hated by a village most of his life, having a demon sealed into him at birth and being without parents. She had never heard of anyone with more misfortune. But the Naruto, reading her expressions, had smiled and said, "Yeah, my life seems bad. But I had you, and Kakashi sensei, and Iruka sensei, Tsunade-obaa, Ichiraku ramen…even had some fun with that teme…Gaara, he had no one. Trusted no one. Poor guy probably never laughed much in his life."

Sakura had felt touched from being included in Naruto's words…but still felt doubts albeit they had traces of pity in them for Gaara.

She reflected on his image she had just seen standing, looming over her and tried to reunite that with Naruto's words. Hard to. Near impossible.

All she had seen was he had grown taller. His eyes still lined, possible even thicker with rings of black. Blood red hair that stood out…well, like hers. And that gaze that was a mixture of disinterest, impatience, and a whole host of other things, with something darker lurking behind. For a face that didn't seem to change in expression, she had read quite a bit just from his eyes while he was in thought.

**/You want to take that chance of him killing you just because he spaced out for a minute? He was probably plotting with that demon on which way to kill us!/**

Taking that as her cue, Sakura burst into Tsunade's office and immediately yelled out everything that just occured. However unfortunately, Tsunade wasn't paying attention. And there was a reason for that. Actually, there were two.

She was drunk.

She was asleep.

"TSUNADESANGAARA'SBACKINKONOHA!WHATSHOULDWEDO!…."

"….sake…Shizune…get me sake..Haruno…whatareyoustilldoinghe…**ARGHHH**!"

Sakura had woken her with just a slight pinch…and a kunai just for extra measure for she had previously tried waking up the Hokage before and from that experience, found it best to distract her from attacking the person who woke her up.

"What! Sakura, this better be important! I was doing something important and you cut me with a kunai! Now I need alcohol to clean it! Sakura! Go bring some."

"Tsunade-sama! There isn't any time! The Kazekage is here and he is really mad! Shouldn't we warn people in case he tries to kill them again? Should I go and call backup, the rest of the jounins perhaps, to prepare..."

Sakura was almost out of the door by the time she had said this. She was all prepared to call Naruto and the others. That is, until Tsunade stepped in front of her.

"Sakura, calm down! I know the Kazekage is here. He sent me a message the other day, requesting to come here for private personal reasons. Now he is to be staying for a while so he's going to need a guide to help him in Konoha. And that guide is going to be you Sakura! Keep in mind that he IS the Kazekage so do not upset him. I would rather not have an epidemic just because you insulted him in any way."

With that said, Tsunade fell back unto her desk, sighing and muttering on how now she SERIOUSLY needs a drink. As for Sakura, she was staring at Tsunade as if she had gone crazy and announced that the world was ending...in which it was about to soon.

"B...But Tsunade-san, he tried to wipe out the village last time! People can get hurt if he stays here and plus he gets mad so easily even if a bit of spit got unto his shoe, I mean how was I supposed to know he was standing right…Oh crap you weren't supposed to hear that…"

Tsunade heard that and she glared up at Sakura. The most piercing evil glance that had caused Jiraiya to melt and beg on his knees...**without** trying to peek up her dress. Sakura had a bad feeling…

"H.A.R.U.N.O S.A.K.U.R.A! YOU ARE TO BE HIS GUIDE WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEEEEEAAAARRRR!"

Taking note of Tsunade's glowing eyes and the empty sake bottles her hand was nearing, the cherry blossom decided to make her escape then. As the door slammed, Tsunade took that as a yes to Sakura being a guide. Outside the door, many things were running through Sakura's mind.

/I wonder WHAT kind of business does Gaara have here…There's no wars and so far everything's been pretty quite quiet…Hmmm…maybe I'll ask him. Then again maybe not…/

She shivered remembering the chakra and the sand crawling up her legs.

/He needs to calm down, it was only a bit of spit! But…I suppose I'll have to apologize or Tsunade will have me kicked all the way to Suna village itself!/

With that Sakura started to walk out in search of Gaara and Naruto. She figured since Gaara was friends with Naruto, her chances of getting killed were less.

Inside Tsunade's office, Tsunade turned around in her chair towards the window and watched the pink haired kunoichi leaving the building while talking to herself. Then she heard a snicker from the tree outside the window.

"So Gaara, you heard all that?"

The red-haired sand ninja was smirking uncharacteristically just for a moment just before his face turned unemotional.

"Ah."

"Do me a favour and try not to kill her. Literally and figuratively. Consider it part of your conditions in return for hospitality."

"I don't have time for her anyway. My purpose here has to be completed soon…before…"

At this Tsunade's face turned serious and she looked at him.

"I hope you will succeed in finding what you seek."

The pink-haired kunoichi kept walking and she suddenly remembered that Naruto was trying to tell her something before; This was what he probably what he was trying to tell her.

/**Anyway, If Tsunade knew all along that Gaara was coming, why didn't she tell me yesterday**?/

_Flashback to yesterday…_

"_Tsunade-san, I'm going now."_

"_Ah, okay bye…OH WAIT, HARUNO! I forgot to tell you something…"_

_Too late, Sakura was out the door and making her way home. Tsunade shrugged and went back to her drink._

_/Oh well, she'll find out tomorrow anyway. Plus, maybe this might help that Kazekage loosen up…/_


End file.
